Budapest - Day #7

By Jeff - July 1, 2009

Well, today was my last day in Budapest, and finally with no conference or deadline of any sort. It was a free day to roam. This was by far the best day here. Don’t get me wrong – I had a good time at the conference and made some new acquaintances – not only Hungarian, but also Rochesterites who were here. There was the doctor’s wife that I chatted with at the banquet (see Budapest #5), and the doctor (who was one of the course directors) who joined me for breakfast one morning. We chatted until it was time to go to work, and then he would come and chat every morning to see how I was doing (overwhelmed, etc or not) and continually greet me in the hall, lobby and such. I know that when I see some of these people back home, we will be like old friends – or, at least, not be strangers.

However – today was just a hoot. First off, I tagged along with a fellow Mayoite who met up with a Hungarian doctor who gave us a tour of the Castle District of Budapest (the “Buda” portion of Budapest, actually). From what I could tell, she has lived here her whole life, and is a walking encyclopedia for the area. Should she ever decide to stop being a world famous doctor – she has a future in the tourism industry. I will try to post pics from the castle and other parts of town after typing this note.

We hung out at the castle for quite a while today. After that, we all split up, and it was time to roam on my own. Since getting here, I had wanted to ride either the subway or the tram line that runs beside the river in front of our hotel. I decided on the subway (the Metro, as it’s known here) – and the Yellow Line was the obvious choice, for 2 reasons: #1 because it is the closest to my hotel, and #2 because it is the oldest subway line in Europe and the 3rd oldest in the world. So – I managed to figure out how to buy a ticket and hopped on. I then realized I didn’t really know where to stop. I wanted to go to a place called Hero’s Square – so had to figure out how many stops it was to get there (of course, it’s all in Hungarian) and remember how to find the train back once I got there. What an adventure. It was GREAT!

I finally got up to Hero’s Square and began to nose around. It is filled with museums – which were closed by the time I arrived, as well as a lake/fountain (that was neat – if I have a good photo, I will explain it there). Going there was just a reminder that no matter how many differences we all have – we are still so much the same. There were people sitting on park benches and having picnics, there were kids fishing in the “lake” (I doubt there was anything worth keeping – I only saw some 3 inch fish). Hero’s Square also housed –what I think was – a zoo, some sort of small amusement park with these trampoline contraptions that looked SO fun. There was also a bounce house in the distance but I didn’t go over there.

It was fun because I just wandered – not really knowing where I was, except that I was north of the lake and of the Hero’s statues – which were my landmarks to find my way back home. I wandered up there for about an hour. When I was about ready to leave, I returned to a park vendor for a supper of a Gyro and Coke (again, what is it with all of the warm drinks?). It cost me about $4 or $4.50 –and it was, hands down, the best meal I have had here. It was just super. The server, on the other hand, either didn’t like Americans or was peeved that I took her away from the Hungarian version of Days of Our Lives. She was a tad surely. When finished I went back to her booth, pointed at the gyro table and said, “gyro” and then gave her a double thumbs up, and then said, “thank you” in Hungarian. She returned a smile to me, and I felt good – hoping that I had made her crappy day just a bit better.

Wow, I’m getting long winded again – don’t worry, I think I’m almost done. I hopped back onto the subway and rode back to the station closest to my hotel. I then grabbed an ice cream cone – similar to ours, yet . . . not. It was pretty good though. I decided that I was done spending money and came home (although now I realize that I have to go back out and buy something for breakfast, as I have no intention of spending $20 or $30 for some bacon and a muffin in the café downstairs. So – I have to wrap this up before the stores close.

So – on that note, I will close out the final note from the city of Budapest and wish you all a good day (yeah, it’s night here, but early afternoon in MN). I leave for the airport at 9:30 Thursday morning (that would be 2:30 a.m. to you) – don’t worry Lisa, I’ve been packed – except for essentials since last night (try not to have a heart-attack). Thanks for your comments and notes – it has made me feel not quite so far away.

I’ll talk to you next from the good old US of A (and it is).

Jeff